Prepaid card for Iphone - best way?

Hei :) I'm going to stay 5 weeks in japan in feb. 2012.

I've got an Iphone 4 and i cant use the internet or the sms and mail only for reeeeallly much money in japan. so, cause my phone is unlocked, I thought I could get a prepaid Sim card without a phone in Japan.

Where do I get it? Which is the best Provider and what are the normal costs for internet, sms (only in japan) etc?

Thank you for your time :) Hope you can help me out!

There are very few carriers that provide prepaid sim cards, and even fewer that have decent internet plans. The best is probably b-mobile which offers unlimited internet plans for 3000-5000 yen, or 6000 yen with some included voice minutes. You can get more info here (Japanese only):

http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/lineup.html

Softbank. Just got a prepaid card for my used iPhone yesterday as I lost my old one the week before. Cost where 3000yen for the sim card registering.
Prepaid cards start from 1000yen upwards.
I registered for unlimited SMS as it costs only 300yen per month. You need to register for this service when getting your sim card. The staff will do everything for you including charging your phone the first time to show you how it works. It is very simple though as it is in English.
Enjoy your stay here

But softbank prepaids don't support mobile internet. Or have they changed their system recently? Can you use internet with your iphone and a softbank prepaid?

Softbank prepaid requires you to show alien registration card or somethign with address in Japan.

5 weeks, probably sounds like a temporary visitor with none of this.

I agree get the b-mobile prepaid SIM (data only) . Use SKYPE on your phone or rent a phone as well.

Otherwise have a person living in Japan get a cheap prepaid softbank phone for you (talk only) and use a prepaid bmobile for internet on your iphone. yeah a slight hassle but not by that much.

Softbank prepaid requires you to show alien registration card or somethign with address in Japan.

You can get a softbank prepaid with just a passport and hotel address.

Otherwise have a person living in Japan get a cheap prepaid softbank phone for you (talk only) and use a prepaid bmobile for internet on your iphone. yeah a slight hassle but not by that much.

If you want calling too there are b-mobile prepaid sims that include calling. Its not much more than an internet only sim (theoretically its a free upgrade if you make more than 25 minutes in calls per month), and will probably end up being cheaper without the hassle of two cards.

http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/sim_tm/index.html

If you're really strapped for cash, however I'd just use a softbank prepaid for voice, and forgo mobile internet entirely. You can still get unlimited mms with these cards for 300 yen.

You can *not* get a Softbank prepaid phone with a passport and a hotel address. You have to have 90 days left from the day you pick up the phone on your visa. I registered as a foreigner on a tourist visa just so I could get the phone but it wasn't enough.

Of course, someone in Japan can buy the prepaid phone for you and you can pay for everything.

Note this was the policy at Softbank's stores - an employee might ignore it or make a mistake and it might not be enforced at places that just sell Softbank prepaid phones.

This is the best policy if you're not taking a phone with you, as their 300Y a month is unlimited email and SMS to Softbank users. The email bit comes in handy.

23, what Softbank store denied you a prepaid phone?

I've been following various threads of this same topic for a while, about Softbank's prepaid phone policy, and it seems to banter back and forth between people being able to do it with a passport and hotel address and people not being able to do it.

Just wondering which store you tried in.

Just rent one from Global Advanced Communications.

Note this was the policy at Softbank's stores - an employee might ignore it or make a mistake and it might not be enforced at places that just sell Softbank prepaid phones.

I'm not sure where you tried getting your prepaid, but when I contacted several softbank stores about their prepaid phone policies they told me that most stores should issue you a prepaid with only your passport and hotel address, although some impose stricter rules beyond the standard company guidelines. Try the outlets on the following list, most of which have been confirmed to sell prepaids to foreigners:

http://mb.softbank.jp/en/customer_support/shops.html

i am moving to japan in a couple of months (dec actually) and i find myself in a bit of a pickle.

ive read a lot of threats and there's a lot of conflicting info about using u.s. phones/ipads in japan. my mom just got an ipad 2 for me for my birthday, and my phone is fairly new... so id hate to get another phone/ipad with softbank with a 2 year contract...

i tried contacting softbank but their customer service online wasn't helpful. also, when i was in japan last year, they pretty much told me that some stores do in fact enforce different rules so a passport/hotel doesn't always work. this is not a problem for me as i will have a valid working visa and home address in japan.

since this seems to be the most current thread regarding this issue, i was wondering if anyone knew if i could buy a bmobile sim card and use it on my unlocked iphone 4?

also, slightly different, but can i use my ipad (unlocked in the u.s. but not japan) with a prepaid sim card from bmobile as well? ipads use the small sim cards- does bmobile carry those as well?

i appreciate any info you may have on the issue!!!

since this seems to be the most current thread regarding this issue, i was wondering if anyone knew if i could buy a bmobile sim card and use it on my unlocked iphone 4?

Yes, you can do that. It also works out as one of the cheapest methods to use an unlocked phone in Japan.

also, slightly different, but can i use my ipad (unlocked in the u.s. but not japan) with a prepaid sim card from bmobile as well? ipads use the small sim cards- does bmobile carry those as well?

The iphone 4 and ipad 2 use the same type of microsim, so yes you can use an ipad 2 on bmobile. You could actually use the same sim in both devices if you don't mind swapping it between the two.

thanks yllwsmrf!

i reaaaally didnt want to fork out more cash for the phone/ipad. or be tied to a contract with softbank!

For such a short stay, you can also go SIM Rental as well at Narita Airport when you arrive:

http://www.softbank-rental.jp/campaign/cmn/en/
A handful of others at Narita and major cities selling the same as well.

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Keep in mind that if you're near any WiFi hotspot, Talkatone + Google Voice will allow free phone calls to any number in the USA & anyone else that has the same anywhere in the world!

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I unlocked my iPhone 4 and just signed up for a contract with Softbank. They said they I couldn't get a prepaid sim so that was the only real option. I spend around 60,000 yen per month. For this you need an alien registration card, a credit card or Japanese bank account and your passport.

When I arrived in Japan I hired one of those sims from Narita airport... THEY ARE EXPENSIVE AS _____! lol

I had the sim for 10 days and the bill came to 300,000 yen! and I didn't over use it lol.

After that I purchased a jenky looking prepaid Softbank phone with my passport (You can only do this at the airport, any other store required your alien registration card) The phone with 30,000 of credit came to around 120,000. In a normal store it would be around 70,000 lol!

Prepaid was also lame as you only get 80 minutes of talk time for 30,000 yen! However you get unlimited txt and smail which is cool lol. (Enjoy your 1 minute calls)

Do you like sushi, I think your numbers are off by a factor of 10. Otherwise you paid $1500 US for a phone and 80 minutes of talk time costs nearly $400 US.

When I arrived in Japan I hired one of those sims from Narita airport... THEY ARE EXPENSIVE AS _____! lol

All I can say is shop around. The going rate for rental sims is a few hundred yen per day in rental fees, and 100 yen/min for outgoing domestic calls. Data, when available, varies wildly in price. A good unlimited plan will cost around 1500 yen per day, but be prepared for huge data bills if you are on an uncapped plan.

I had the sim for 10 days and the bill came to 300,000 yen! and I didn't over use it lol.

Accounting for the extra zero in your prices, 30000 yen sound fairly typical. With the cheaper plans, that comes out to using a regular amount of data, plus about 10 mins of calling per day.

After that I purchased a jenky looking prepaid Softbank phone with my passport (You can only do this at the airport, any other store required your alien registration card)

Softbank prepaids can be bought at other softbank stores without an ARC (see a few posts up for more info).

The phone with 30,000 of credit came to around 120,000. In a normal store it would be around 70,000 lol!

Which model did you get? The base model costs about 5000 yen, or about 8000 yen with a 3000 yen credit. The prices should be the same at the airport as at other softbank stores.

Prepaid was also lame as you only get 80 minutes of talk time for 30,000 yen! However you get unlimited txt and smail which is cool lol. (Enjoy your 1 minute calls)

A 3000 yen card only gets you 30 minutes of talk time (9 yen per 6 sec), and unlimited mail costs 300 yen/month.

Yeah my yen was off... I was tired when I wrote that lol!

@ yllwsmrf
Yeah well if its only 30 mins then damn... even worse! lol
Its been over 6 months since I have used pre paid.

I had a black flip softbank phone... I ended up giving it away so I cant tell you the model. In the Inzaimakinohara Softbank store it was around 5,000 yen and at the airport 8,000.
The cashier said that it was "Airport prices" lol.

I'm moving to Japan in February on a working holiday visa. I've been trying to do lots of research on how I can use my iphone (unlocked from Australia) for both calls and data in Japan. I too had come across the BMobile site and I thought it seemed best. My Japanese is ok, not great, but from reading the website, it seems like what I'm after. Does anyone know if you have to sign up for a certain period?

Valberry - I notice you said you are going to Japan in December - I'd be curious to know how you go trying to get the BMobile SIM and whether it works in your unlocked iphone4 etc etc. Any help/advice you can give me would be much appreciated!